Saturday, May 23, 2009

Ismailis - Shah Hasan Ali Mausoleum

Hasanabad, Mazgaon, Mumbai - India

By Al-Waez Alijah Hasan Husayn Nazar Ali

Mowlana Shah Hasan Ali spent the last years of his life in the peaceful enjoyment of his large income and hereditary honours at Poona , Bombay and Bangalore . He devoted the last 30 years of his life to the up liftment of the Ismaili community in India . One of his great passions in life was horses. He had in his stables some of the best breeds of Arabian horses. His fondness for horses made him one of the prominent supporters of the turf. There are many cups won by him on the racecourses which are still preserved in the family. The Duke of Edinburgh and King Edward VII, who was Prince of Wales at that time, visited Mowlana Shah Hasan Ali at his residence during their visit to India . It was an honour which, with the exception of the leading ruling princes, was accorded to no other nobleman; this was an acknowledgement of Imam’s princely birth and of the great and loyal services he had rendered to the British government.

Mowlana Shah Hasan Ali died in April 1881 A.D., leaving three sons -Aga Ali Shah, who succeeded him to the Imamat, Aga Jangir Shah and Aga Akbar Shah. Before Mowlana Shah Hasan Ali’s death there was reconciliation between him and the ruling family in Persia . The last resting place of this great Persian nobleman, warrior, statesman, sportsman and Spiritual Leader, is at Mazagon in Bombay . This place is called "Hasanabad" after the Imam, where Ismailis have erected a mausoleum. Millions of Ismailis and Non Ismailis has visited this mausoleum from all over the world.